


It’s the Thought that Counts

by TyrantGuardian



Category: 13 Reasons Why (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anal, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Barebacking, Blow Jobs, Creampie, Dubious Consent, Dubious Friends with Benefits, Explicit Sexual Content, Friends With Benefits, Friends to Lovers, Graphic Descriptions of sexual acts, Gratuitous Smut, Handcuffs, Jealousy, M/M, Manipulation, Manipulative Relationship, Not Canon Compliant, Possessive Behavior, Possessive Sex, Shameless Smut, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-02
Updated: 2019-08-15
Packaged: 2020-05-20 08:14:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19372771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TyrantGuardian/pseuds/TyrantGuardian
Summary: Bryce wants something special for his birthday and Justin feels compelled to comply.  Things proceed to spiral out of control from there.





	1. Party Favor

**Author's Note:**

> **So a few things before you read:**  
>  \- My chapters can be a tad long, so bring the appropriate amount of snacks and drinks. (I like Twix, if you know, want to bring me something.)
> 
> \- This story will have a few sex scenes in it and these parts tend to be very descriptive. So if that's not your thing, you may not want to read this. _**Heed the tags**_ to get an idea of what your in for.  
> ( **Additional tags, relationships, and warnings will be added as chapters are posted.** There are some things I'm withholding until I post the actual chapter(s) as not to spoil it ahead of time. It's Bryce, so just assume things will get worse for Justin, if that's a good enough hint of things to come! )
> 
> -Sorry if I missed any grammatical and/or spelling errors during my proofreading. Anything I catch later will of course be fixed.
> 
> -Still happily married to commas, so you'll see the featured here a lot. They're just so wondrous!
> 
> Anyway enjoy the story!. . . Or run away screaming in terror, whatever floats your boat.

“So you’ve been spending a lot of time with Standall.”

“Hmm?” Justin yawned lazily stretching out his limbs, feeling a little melancholy as he noticed that the lingering effects from the weed he’d smoked the night before had completely worn off.

“I’m just saying you two seem to have gotten close.”Bryce shrugged nonchalantly as he walked back into his bedroom.He handed Justin a bottle of water, smiling at the latter’s quiet response of thanks before reclaiming his seat directly across from him on the Flokati shag rug.

“I mean he’s cool,” Justin shrugged noncommittally while uncapping his drink and taking a sip.“we get along.”

“Clearly.” Bryce smirked with a playful wag of his eyebrows and Justin swallowed down the last bit of water he had in his mouth with an uncomfortable frown, averting his gaze to the carpet.Bryce rolled his own in response, leaning forward to push Justin by the arm playfully. 

He let out an indigent yelp as he almost fell over, wasting a little water on his shirt.He threw Bryce a look of annoyance that the latter ignored.

“Relax.You know I don’t give a shit about you being gay.”Bryce reassured him, offering an encouraging smile to reinforce his words. 

Justin only nodded, more than aware that Bryce was perfectly fine with his sexuality.However he also knew that Bryce tended to act a bit. . .odd whenever he started showing visible interest in another guy or vise-versa.Thus he felt he had the right to be concerned over the conspicuous reason Bryce was bothering to mention any of this in the first place.

“Speaking of that,” Bryce segued with an impish grin, almost as if nearing his thoughts.“I think I know what I want you to give me for my birthday.”

Justin eyed him a moment with inquisitive caution before carefully taking another sip of his water. 

“What?” He questioned with a hint of unease.

“I want you to give me your black cherry.”Bryce announced boldly, his grin widening as he took in Justin’s reaction as he spoke.

He did not disappoint.

Justin’s eyes enlarged as he choked on the water he’d been drinking.He frantically began hitting his chest as he coughed, trying to clear his passageway, only able to take in deep gulps of air as soon as he was able to breath properly. 

Bryce watched him in amusement, taking sips of his own water as he quietly waited for Justin to collect himself enough so that he could give him a proper response.

“My what?”Justin asked in shock.

“You heard what I said.”Bryce replied lasciviously.

Justin gave him a nervous chuckle under his breath.He started looking around the room, focusing on nothing in particular before looking back at Bryce with a look of utter bewilderment on his face.“What the hell?How do you even know I still have one?”

Bryce arched a brow and gave him a skeptical look.“Come on Justy.I know you’ve never been fucked before.We talk, remember?”

“Yeah, but—”

“But what?You asked me what I wanted and that’s what I want from you.” Bryce stated curtly, taking more swigs of his water before setting the bottle down beside him.He laid back, propping himself up on his elbows.

“...I don’t know.”Justin murmured despondently, avoiding his gaze and looking openly uncomfortable with the idea.

The two had experimented before with some kissing, some heavy petting and touches, even a blow job here and there.Despite all of that—and not from a lack of effort on Bryce’s part at least—Justin just didn’t see him in that way.Bryce always felt more like a close friend or an older brother to him.As such, he was never truly comfortable with being romantically involved with him and definitely not enough to have sex with him. Especially when he’d never done so with another guy before.

Justin shook his head as he continued to avoid making eye contact with the teen sitting directly across from him.

“That’s. . .a bit much.”He admitted charily.

“Is it?After everything I’ve done for you?”Bryce frowned with an air of resentment.

Justin immediately looked put off.“This isn’t like that!You’re like asking for me as a gift!”

“Yeah, something special that only you can give me.Something that I’ve always wanted.”Bryce admitted flagrantly.“So what’s wrong with me asking for it?”

“It’s just—” Justin began, trying and failing to find the proper words to explain himself and why he thought this was such a bad idea.He ran a hand through his hair and licked his lips.“It just is!”

“Well it’s not like you could get me anything else I’d want.” Bryce reminded him with unapologetic acerbity and Justin looked as though he’d been struck, visibly wounded by the cruelty of his words.Though he could admit that perhaps the sentiment wasn’t too unwarranted. 

When it came to their relationship, the scales of balance of who gave what and did what for whom were overwhelming stacked in Bryce’s favor.It wasn’t that Justin didn’t want to do things for Bryce, it was just that he often couldn’t. 

Still...this was a little more than he would have ever bargained for.As sappy as it sounded, he wanted to save something like this for someone special to him that he wanted to be intimate with.

As if he were hearing his thoughts again, Bryce clicked his tongue against his teeth and sighed looking crestfallen.

“So you don’t think I’m worth it.” He accused him, feigning looking wounded and sounding insulted.

Justin’s lips parted slightly as he attempted to deny his claim but the words floundered.Instead he ended up looking down at the floor in shame as he felt the culpability of his actions.

Despite any misgivings he had to the idea, it was never his intention to insult Bryce, considering how close they were and how much he meant to him.He bit the inside of his cheek as he sat upright and pulled his legs in so that he could prop his chin up on his knees. 

“That’s not true.”Justin insisted softly, looking Bryce directly in the eye, trying to seem sincere.“I’d just feel weird doing something like that.”

“It’s just sex.” Bryce scoffed bluntly, making it sound like his concerns were no big deal.“It’s not like we haven’t tried some shit before, so the only reason you’d have a problem with doing it is because you don’t want to do it with me.”

“I never said that! It’s just giving it out like some gift seems like freaky shit to me!”Justin snapped defensively.Then against his better judgement, he tried placating him with “It’s not you, alright?!I don’t have a problem fucking you!”

Bryce seemed skeptical of his claims, staring at him with such unwavering acuteness that it forced Justin to look away with a nervous clear of his throat.

“Then you’ll do it.” He declared more than asked, with a look that challenged Justin to turn him down. 

Feeling trapped and chastising himself for his own stupidity, Justin gave a shaky audibly sigh before nodding with uncertainty.

“Yeah.”

“Yeah?”Bryce repeated, a pleased smile slowly spreading across his face that became more devious by the second, making Justin instantly regret his decision to give in.

“Yeah, sure.”Justin agreed again, trying to sound as easygoing as possible while feeling his stomach turning in knots. 

“Great!All you have to do is show up back here for the party and I’ll take it from there.”Bryce announced with excitement and Justin gave him a weary glare as he picked at the imaginary fluff by the toe of his shoe. 

“...That’s it?” He asked suspiciously.

“That’s it.”Bryce assured him, getting to go his feet and heading over to his dresser to answer the ringing of his cellphone. 

Justin watched him take the call, keeping his features as tranquil as he possibly could.He even managed a weak smile when Bryce gave him a sly wink and a sneaky little smile while he continued to speak with whomever about uninteresting baseball crap.But there was no denying the overwhelming sense of foreboding he felt.It was slowly but surely beginning to nip at his core already, snipping away at his peace of mind and filling him with dread.

He just couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d just signed himself over to the devil. . .

 

* * *

 

The party was amazing but that was to be expected. 

Bryce’s parties in particular were always an event, but the celebrations he held on his birthday?Those tended to be the stuff of legends.Though technically, it was the day before his birthday but that mattered very little in the scheme of things.

The who’s who of popularity was all in attendance, though this party had drawn in a larger crowd than usual, with most of the school seemingly there, filling the unsupervised Walker home to the brim with liquored up teens.Dancing, socializing, making lasting ill-advised decisions in their booze fueled haze—the typical fodder for such an event.All with Bryce Walker being in the center of it all, as the shining beacon among a sea of inferior planets and minuscule stars.

For his part, Justin was staying out of the way, sitting on the couch in the den adjacent to the backyard.The patio doors were wide open, letting a nice scented breeze waft through the room that filled his nostrils.The lights were low and the music loud, with the beat filling his ears as the melody pulsed through his veins and calmed his ever fraying nerves.

He’d been on edge for most of the day, the mounting pressure of what he would be doing at some point tonight weighing heavily on his mind.The later it got, the more anxious and unsettled he became and it didn’t help that he wasn’t allowed to smoke any weed to calm his nerves—Bryce had insisted that he remain somewhat sober, saying that him being high or sloppy drunk would ruin the experience for them both.

So he simply sat.Chatting it up with his friends, as well as flirting pretty heavily with Alex while he waited for the inevitable.

That time came around five minutes to midnight, when Bryce touched him on the arm and inclined his head to follow him to a more private setting, red solo cup in hand and devious smirk playing on his lips.

Determined to keep their plans clandestine, Justin causally handed off his own cup of beer, the same one he’d been nursing since he’d gotten there, to the blond with an easy going smile before obliging Bryce. 

He slowly snaked his way through the throng of people, building up his resolve while wringing his hands together as he made his way to Bryce’s bedroom.

Arriving at the slightly ajar door, he couldn’t help the small shiver of curious excitement despite the congruent apprehension he felt. 

He hadn’t made any plans of his own and Bryce never clarified any specifics of what was to happen other than for him to show up so they could fuck, so a part of him was morbidly curious to know how things would turn out.

He didn’t have to wait long.

The moment he stepped across the threshold into the bedroom proper, he was pulled roughly by his arm further into the room as the door was slammed shut behind him.

He barely had a chance to breath or to even think before he was slammed back against the door and caught by a pair of sinfully soft lips capturing his own in an all encompassing kiss.Bryce almost instantly had him enraptured just by the sensations and very taste of him alone, sending a jolt of excitement straight to Justin’s groin that made him shift his legs to try and adjust the discomforting stiffening in his pants.

“Wait—!” He breathed with no luck as Bryce moved the ambush to Justin’s neck with a plethora of kisses mixed in with playful bites, only pausing to suck on what he knew to be sensitive patches of skin on the brunette. 

All while he locked the door behind them.

As pleasurable as it honestly felt, all he could think about was how much he wished he could have smoked a joint to help sooth his nerves a little.

Bryce felt the tension, pulling away from Justin and staring at him momentarily with intrigue before ushering him over to his bed.The two sat down side by side with Justin putting his hands in his lap.He focused all of his attention on looking at the lush carpet beneath his feet as Bryce watched him a moment longer before wordlessly getting back onto his feet and heading over to his dresser.

Justin continued to sit in awkward silence, bobbing his head lightly to the beat of the music that drifted in through the door, trying not to think too hard about the fact that if shit went south, there was a real possibility no one would be able to hear his pleas for help.

When Bryce returned, he had nothing more than a small black satin bag and a bottle Justin knew was KY lube.His eyes focused in on that bag, wondering just what the hell could be in it. 

He blew out puffs of breath to the beat of the music now, twiddling his thumbs as he tried to remain calm and waited to be instructed on what to do.

“On your knees.”Bryce ordered, pointing to the floor.Knowing exactly where this was going, Justin took a deep breath and slowly sunk down on to the floor as he was told, watching as Bryce unfastened his belt then pulled his pants down and off while leaving his boxers on.

Justin didn’t move immediately, still feeling overall hesitant to be doing this in the first place.He tried reminding himself how happy this would make Bryce and how much he wanted to be able to give him something special for such a grandiose occasion.How much he felt like he owed this to him, as a thank you for everything he had ever done for him.

Feeling more resolute, Justin inched himself a bit closer while reaching to take the waistband of Bryce’s boxer shorts with his fingers.

“With your teeth.”Bryce commanded haughtily, lips curling into a cocky sneer while he crossed his arms over his chest.Justin sighed to himself.He should have known that Bryce was going to want to make this a spectacle.

With a single brisk nod, Justin leaned forward and took the waistband of Bryce’s boxers carefully between his teeth.Locking his blue eyes with Bryce’s he slowly began to pull the fabric down, keeping the boxers in his mouth as Bryce stepped out of them and took a seat on the edge of his bed.Justin let them drop to the floor as Bryce propped himself up on his elbows and waited with suggestive leer.

He placed himself between Bryce’s legs, looking at his cock in awe while taking in the impressive size of it despite how flaccid it was.It wasn’t the first time he’d ever seen it, but it was the first time he had with the knowledge that soon, Bryce would be fucking him with it.To say that he was worried about the size would be an understatement.

“It’s not gonna suck itself.”Bryce joked but it was obvious he was beginning to grow impatient.Semi rolling his eyes with a sigh, Justin lowered his face towards Bryce’s lap.Gripping him by the hips, he engulfed the imposing length into his mouth with one fluid motion, smiling and humming around it when Bryce emitted a pleased “Fuck yes!” as he closed his eyes and craned his head back.

His hope, as unrealistic as he knew it to be, was that maybe he could do such a good job with this that Bryce would forgo the (hopefully) quick lay in lieu of discarding him so that he could go back to his party.

So he moved his head back and forth, sucking eagerly on it as if he were famished, doing his best to swallow him down to the hilt repeatedly.

Unsurprisingly, Bryce went from limp to almost achingly hard in a matter of seconds, which allowed Justin to grip the now stiff shaft so that he could stroke it to the movement of his mouth to further enhance the experience.He would only pull out every now and then to hungrily suck on his balls, running his tongue along the throbbing vein all the way back up to the tip before teasing the slit of his penis.Then, he coiled his mouth back around the generous appendage and began sucking it anew.

“Damn Justy.” Bryce sighed blissfully as the brunette continued his ministrations, raking his fingers through Justin’s hair.He grabbed a fist full of it before he gave it a sharp yank. 

Justin moaned around his cock in pain, the vibrations sending shivers of pleasure coursing through Bryce.He began to move Justin’s head as he saw fit, dictating his spreed and ignoring the increasingly frequent sounds of Justin’s choking and gagging.

Finally he released him and Justin gasped, coughing as he struggled to breath properly.Bryce only gave him seconds before he pulled Justin to his feet and sat him on the bed next to him.He grabbed Justin by the hair again, eliciting a pained gasp from him that allowing Bryce to slide his tongue through Justin’s parted lips.Without breaking contact, Bryce leaned the two of them back onto the bed, pinning Justin beneath his body as he began to plunder his mouth.

He barely caught his breath once Bryce moved back down to his neck to continuing leaving welts.Bryce smiled into his flesh, enjoying the cry Justin emitted before using the tip of his tongue to trace the cartilage of his ear, pulling away long enough just to pull Justin’s shirt up and over his head before tossing it somewhere to the ground.Then he pushed him back down and began to litter it his neck with new bruises, marking his territory and purposely leaving them where they would be easily visible and more difficult to hide.

By the time he pulled back so they could move on, he looked down to see that Justin looked almost delirious, struggling to bring himself back into conscious enough state to participant.

“Condoms?”Justin asked breathlessly, still looking dazed and shivering with elation from the constant stimulation he’d just received.

“Bareback.”Bryce informed him with a devilish grin, capturing his lip in a quick ardent kiss before Justin had the chance to protest.That didn’t mean he refused to try once he could speak again though his words dissipating as Bryce once again littered his neck with distractingly intoxicating kisses.

Then he heard a small but audible click.

Justin’s eyes shot open just as the second clasp of the handcuffs were fastened around his left wrist.He blinked rapidly, lightly attempting to pull his arms away from one another before looking over at Bryce in shocked confusion. 

“What the fuck are you doing?” He asked in concern, holding up his restrained wrists.

“My gift, my rules.” Was the only explanation he received as Bryce unfastened Justin’s pants, forcibly yanking them off and tossing them aside.His boxers came next, being flung somewhere over Bryce’s shoulder and soon enough, he found himself once again pinned beneath him.

Bryce reached over and grabbed the bottle of lube,coating his index finger completely before tossing the bottle aside. Then he placed an open palm against Justin’s chest to hold him down before pressing his index finger inside of him.Justin winced in discomfort, raising his hands towards his face, unsure of where to place them since whatever he would normally do with them was difficult now that they were fastened together.

“Relax.”Bryce instructed him, curling and stroking his finger to stretch him out before pressing another digit in, this time his middle finger and began making a scissoring motion. 

Justin couldn’t help but be thankful that Bryce was even taking the time to properly prepare him, as he knew Bryce was the type to care more about his own gratification and would just as easily have started as soon as possible.So at least he knew he gave some form of a damn about him—or just didn’t want to risk getting blood on his expensive bed sheets.

Either way, Justin chose to be thankful, feeling his body relax the more Bryce continued to play with his ass.

Once he was satisfied that Justin was sufficiently stretched out, Bryce pulled both of his fingers out, enjoying the groan of displeasure Justin gave at the loss.Reaching over to his left again, he grabbed the bottle of lube and applied an ample amount onto his hand, coating his penis with it.

Done, he positioned himself between Justin’s legs, spreading them further apart.Justin tried not to shiver openly from his apprehension, furling his fingers nervously as his hands rested on his chest.He absently pulled his wrists in opposing directions gently, listening to the soft jingle the metal made as he tried focusing on it instead of what he knew was about to happen.

Taking notice, Bryce captured his lips in another savory kiss, caressing the recesses of his mouth and exploring every inch of it.Using it as a distraction so Justin wouldn’t focus on the fact that he’d already aligned himself with the brunette’s taut ring of muscle.He nudged his weeping tip against it, leaving a thin trail of pre cum in his wake as the puckering entrance pulsed in excitement, the inviting warmth teasing him, begging him to be filled.

The sudden and painful intrusion pulled a strangled cry of protest from Justin, who broke the kiss and immediately attempted to push himself away from the adhered body above him. 

“I told you to relax.”Bryce chuckled remorselessly as he sat back on his heels, pulling Justin toward him by the waist while seamlessly bucking his hips forward with a sharp snap, burying himself balls deep instantly.

The two moaned in unison, Bryce momentarily losing himself to the sweet sensation of Justin’s tight, warm, walls wrapping around every inch of his dick, massaging it with caressing spasms.

For his part, Justin was covering his face as best he could with his hands, muffling the sounds of his whimpers as they escaped.All while struggling to relax and not openly cry in front of Bryce.

He was only given a couple of minutes to adjust before the moving began in earnest, with Bryce picking up a steady momentum almost immediately. 

Justin tried to bite down on bottom lip to keep from crying out but couldn’t stop the whimpering groans that escaped.Bryce had a penchant for deep, hard thrust to go along with his punishing tempo and he was having a hard time adjusting to it, particularly struggling to accommodate his length and girth that he still felt unprepared for. 

Justin gave an audible sigh of relief once he stopped and felt Bryce pull himself out, only to give a distressed groan once Bryce grabbed him by the ankles and started to lift.

“No, fuck I can’t!”He cried out as he felt his legs being pulled over Bryce’s shoulders, trying in vain to free his hands from the tightly wound handcuffs encasing his wrist.He could barely tolerate the brutal pounding his ass had received before, he could only imagine how much worse it would be if Bryce had better access.

“You’re fine.”Bryce insisted undeterred as he pulled Justin’s arms hands away from his face, pinning them above Justin’s head while he gripped his waist with his free hand.When Justin kept squirming to get away, Bryce yanked on the small links of the handcuffs harshly before digging his nails into Justin’s side, making him hiss in pain. “Seriously Justin, let me have my fun.If you stop acting like such a whiny bitch, you can too.”

“It hurts!”Justin insisted, dismayed that Bryce’s only response was to roll his eyes as he realigned himself and pushed back in, drawing a pained gasp from him.Justin once again tried to squirm beneath him in discomfort but Bryce ignored it, pulling his hips back then driving himself back in so hard that he made the bed shake, repeating the process.

Justin couldn’t contain the yells of discomfort with each deep penetration, his arms fraught with tension as he balled his hands into fists and he dug his nails into his palms.Sick of the sound, Bryce once again took his lips with his own with hungry need, swallowing every whimper, sharp intake of breath, and moan of pain. 

He only paused in his rutting to reposition Justin, this time pushing his legs back closer to Justin’s head before restarting his brutal procedure, never once breaking facial contact.Justin’s legs began to shake with each drive of Bryce’s hips, feeling the bulbous tip continuously brushing up against a bundle of nerves that was driving him completely mad.

His groans began to morph into heavy moans into Bryce’s mouth as the light teasing of his prostrate persisted, hungry lips continuing to devour his as their tongues clashed together with need.

He wiggled his hips as much as he could, trying to somehow force Bryce to angle himself so that he could hit the spot dead on, giving an infuriated growl when Bryce stopped moving all together and pulled all the way out.

“Having a bit of a turn around Justy?” Bryce teased him, slapping his ass playfully before lowering Justin’s bottom half back onto the bed.

“No.  Just waiting on you to fuck me right, you asshole,” Justin scowled irritably.Bryce narrowed his eyes at him in warning but Justin didn’t waver, silently challenging him with a glare of his own.Then he purposely rolled his eyes and turned his head away from Bryce to look at the nearby night stand, knowing full well it would spur Bryce to react.

This may be Bryce’s gift but he’d be damn if he wasn’t going to get some enjoyment out of it.

The elder jock pulled Justin’s legs up roughly to his sides without warning.Instinctively, Justin wrapped them around his waist, barely having time to readjust himself so he could lay back with comfort before Bryce was once again pounding into him fervidly.

It only took a few slams before it finally happened: Bryce hit his prostrate dead on.

“ _Fuck_!”Justin cried desperately as it was done over and over again, digging the balls of his feet into the small of Bryce’s back, urging him to thrust deeper as he began to meet the thrusts enthusiastically.

It felt surreal: never in his life had he wanted something to end and never stop so badly. It was a confusing, mind boggling mess that left him feeling overwhelmingly overstimulated.It was a high he enjoyed immensely.

Bryce smirked, staring down at him as though he were prey.“Is this what you needed?”He teased, hitting the spot in a repetitive rhythm, drawing moan after elicit moan of need from Justin.“Is this how you wanna be fucked?”

He tried to respond but another thrust had him see stars and he ended up babbling incoherently instead. 

More thrusts and he could feel his need building, his own cock desperately begging for more ample contact then just the friction supplied by their stomachs.He gave a half-assed attempt to try and finagle his hands down there so he could touch himself, but Bryce refused him, pushing his cuffed arms out of the way with ease.

“Stop being a needy whore.” Bryce teased, laughed breathlessly as he paused in his movement.Justin instead laced his handcuffed arms over his head and around his neck, pulling Bryce forward to touch their foreheads together.

“Don't stop,” Justin pleaded, too enraptured to care about how embarrassed he was acting or how desperate he sounded.Bryce only kissed him but refused to move, making Justin squirm beneath but this time in a desperate bid to start the friction back up.

“Please.” He muffled out, half sobbing, half being swallowed by Bryce’s mouth as he continued to be lavished with ravaging kisses.

“Keep begging.” Bryce demanded, now pressing his lips against Justin’s collar bone while he finally snapped his hips forward as hard and as deeply as he could once to provoke him.

“ _Please!_ ” Justin whimpered, craning his head back.Bryce took it as an invitation to ravish his neck completely, concentrating on a particularly sensitive spot just below his ear as gave another encouraging thrust that made Justin arch his back in desperation to meet it. 

“Keep telling me how badly you need me to fuck you.” He pressed him and Justin licked his lips.

“Please Bryce—!”

“Master.”

“Oh come the fuck _**on**_!”

“. . . **Say it.** ”

“Fine, goddamn it!Master, will you _please_ fuck me? I need you to do it harder!” Justin snapped and with a satisfied smirk, Bryce finally complied, repeatedly attacking that same glorious spot over and over again with vigor.

“Please. . .please. . .please, please, _please, **please**_ —!” Justin recited desperately like a mantra, bucking uncoordinatedly against Bryce as he continued to be enticed by the delicious friction and building pleasure.

Bryce countered him with his own frantic movements as Justin’s cries devolved into incessant moaning, echoing off the walls before being swallowed by the sea of music still blaring throughout the house.

He gave one final push forward with his hips, giving a triumphant guttural “Fuck!” in satisfaction as he exploded inside of Justin, the feeling alone enough for Justin to follow him into climax.

Bryce finally slowed to a stop, feeling as his quivering cock relinquished the last few drops of semen it retained.He leaned down for a final kiss, asserting his dominance even when he felt the other tongue stroke back, pushing against his in retaliation as it tried to gain the upper hand unsuccessfully.

Finally, they broke their kiss but still pressed their foreheads together, sweating, sticky, and panting heavily from their exertions.

Reluctantly, Bryce removed Justin’s arms from around his neck and sat up once again on the balls of his feet, letting his cock slip out of the warmth he now already missed.He watched as a thin winding trail made it’s way down Justin’s ass and onto the sheets beneath them, biting his bottom lip from the titillating sight before looking down at Justin.

Still panting in exhaustion with glazed over eyes from the sex-induced euphoria, the hint of a satisfied smile touching the corners of his mouth.Strands of his soft brunette hair stuck to his forehead and his hands were still bound together, resting on his chest.

Bryce subtly licked his lips as a quiver of need raced back to his flushed cock, threatening to make him hard once again.Instead, he reached over to his nightstand and grabbed his cellphone.Quietly, he snapped a picture while Justin was still out of it, smiling deviously at the image before saving it away in to his private stash.

He would treasure this moment, this image of a fucked out Justin for a long time.

“You alright?”Bryce asked with a cocky smirk plastered on his face, tossing the phone back on to his nightstand.

It took Justin a moment to respond, blinking out of his blissful state before he raised his head inches off of the bed to look up at Bryce.

“Yeah.” Justin gasped out still frazzled. “You?”

“Oh yeah.” Bryce chuckled emphasizing his words with a smug smile as he laid down next to him. 

After a moment of shared silence, Justin looked over at him, raising his still restrained wrists into the air and asked, “You wanna get this shit off of me?”

“Later.”Bryce responded bluntly, his smirk only widening. “You look hot like that.“

Justin only gave him a troubled frown as he burrowed his brows and lowered his arms but said nothing, certain he didn’t want to pry any further into whatever the hell kind of thoughts Bryce was having.

So he simply continued to lay beside him in silence, not resisting when he was pulled to lay on Bryce’s chest while being pinned down by a lazy arm slung around his shoulders.He rested his cuffed hands on Bryce’s broad chest, clasping his hands together.

It felt odd to be sure but he let his exhaustion and the pulsing music lull him to sleep, his last thoughts being on the solace that after tonight, nothing like this would ever happen between them again. 

This was just a one-time commitment for a special occasion after all.

Certainly nothing he would have to be concerned about in the long run.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _This was suppose to be a short (ha!) one-shot story but it just kinda kept spiral out of control (because I have no self-control), so it's going to be a few more chapter before I put a cap on this puppy._
> 
> **Next Chapter:** Justin finally gets those handcuffs off!


	2. Regrettable Decision

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Justin tries to go take a shower. Bryce tries to get an extra present.

When Justin awoke the next morning, he realized his wrists were (thankfully) no longer handcuffed together.  He took a moment to check them for marks and bruises before testing out the rest of his limbs by stretching them, resembling that of a cat. He winced when he was caught off guard by a sharp throb in his ass, freezing in place to let the pain ebb away before he slowly turned over to sit upright.  He stretched out his arms again as he gave an audible yawn, the last remnants of foggy haze finally fading into the ether with the blink of his eyes as he glanced around the room in slight confusion. 

He’d almost forgotten exactly where he was.

He was so used to sleeping in the pool house that waking up in Bryce's room, let alone in his bed, was a completely foreign experience to him now.  In fact, the last time he could remember spending the night in Bryce's room was before the start of their ninth grade year. Not that it bothered him all that much as Bryce had a king sized bed that was ridiculously comfortable.  It was one of those expensive memory foam beds that was fitted with Egyptian thread counted fiber sheets or whatever, with a plethora of feather down pillows at the head of the bed.  It felt really nice on Justin's sore backside and he was rather thankful to have slept encased in such comfort, even if the minimal movements he made reminded him of the thin layer of encrusted residue clinging to the back of his thighs.    


Inwardly, he groaned at the realization, pulling the sheets away from him so he could climb out of the bed to go take a much needed shower.

"Morning," Bryce drawled casually beside him and Justin jumped despite himself, startled. 

The older teen was propped up and leaning back on a bevy of pillows with his cellphone in his hands.  He paused to glance at him in bemusement, arching his brow before he turned his attention back to what he was doing, leaving Justin to feel abashed with his behavior.  It was because of this that Justin didn't immediately return the greeting, instead privately berating himself for having such a stupid reaction—of _course_ Bryce might still be in bed, it was _his_ after—while listening to the constant tapping sound of each letter Bryce typed into his phone. 

As his gaze flickered down to Bryce's bare torso, it suddenly occurred to him that Bryce might also still be completely naked. 

His gaze trailed further down to Bryce's pelvis, which the sheets were covering up, though not enough to obscure the outline of his semi-hard erection.  Justin could feel heat creeping into his face as he continued to openly stare at it, his suddenly dry lips parting somewhat as he vividly recalled the previous night's events.  Catching himself staring, Justin immediately looked away in embarrassment, nervously looking down at the comfortable comforter pooled at the foot of the bed.  He studied the fine stitching and idly wondered exactly what hue of blue it was as his mind began flooding with a multitude of questions. 

Did Bryce just never go back to his party?  If he did, had he secured the room so no one would know what they'd been doing?  Also why did he get back in the bed naked?  Did he normally sleep in bed naked when no one was around?  And why did he allow him to sleep in there this time, considering Bryce normally made him sleep in the pool house after any activity between the two, sexual or otherwise?  When did Bryce remove the handcuffs?  What was going to happen to their friendship after last night?  Would things be awkward between them now?  Would Bryce want to talk about it, pretend it never happened or maybe even want...something else?

How should he respond if he did? 

Justin looked down at this own lap with uncertainty, closing his eyes as the warning pulses of a headache began to creep across the temples of his forehead.  He had no idea how to feel other than tumultuously conflicted about everything now.  Last night had been a jarring to be sure, though despite the abnormality of the situation, it hadn't been a bad experience.  Quite the opposite actually as he'd actually enjoyed it immensely (though he wasn't ready to admit that).  It was just so odd and surreal because he'd done it with **_Bryce_** , and the entire idea was still something he was having a hard time wrapping his head around. 

Certainly not helping were the strange feelings he was beginning to have.  He could only guess the unusual attachment he was starting to develop for Bryce was the result of participating in something so intimate with him, as well as it it being the first time he'd ever done so with another guy.  No matter the reason, he found it _completely_ unsettling: they were suppose to be friends—the best of friends—and it was imperative to him that they stay in the friendzone for a multitude of reasons.

As for whatever these developing feelings were, he'd already made up his mind that the best recourse would be to isolate and completely ignore their existence entirely.

He let his eyes drift back over to Bryce, watching him as he continued to eagerly respond to whatever message he'd received.  Finally feeling Justin's eyes on him, he paused long enough to offer Justin a glance and a faint smile before he went back to his business.  Justin in turn, allowed himself to slouch down further into the pillow he was laying against, feeling foolish over how much he was fretting and over thinking things.  That is, until Bryce looked his way again and his pale blue eyes flickered down to Justin's exposed waist.  That smile of his gave way to a more suggestive, wolfish grin before he slowly returned to look back at his phone screen.

Justin quickly adverted his gaze back to the blue comforter and ran a hand through his unruly brown hair, more than a little aware of his own naked state.  He instinctively pulled up the comforter and wrapped it around his body to shield himself better, burying his face into the soft pillow beneath him. 

Bryce snickering under his breath, casting an aside glance Justin's way as he smirked and rolled his eyes a little. realizing his actions hadn't gone unnoticed.  "Kind of pointless to act modest _now_ ," he scoffed, already responding to another message just as another ping sounded from his phone. 

Justin gave a sheepish muffled laugh into the pillow as he pushed the comforter down to his stomach and sat upright again, cheeks reddened with embarrassment from being caught.  


"Yeah," he agreed before swallowing lightly. "so uh, how long you been up?”

“A while.”Bryce replied casually, not bothering to look up from his phone this time.

“Oh,”Justin responded, not entirely sure where he wanted to go in the conversation from here, trying to think up proper ways to ask some of the more pressing questions he had milling around in his head.  "so how was the rest of the party?"

"Pretty tame actually," Bryce replied matter-of-factly with a twinge of disappointment.  "nothing too out of pocket except for Monty almost getting into a fight with some asshole Jones brought with him."  He flicked his index finger across the screen before he typed in a short response as he continued, "A few people asked where you went.  Dempsey, some hot bitches looking to get a piece," he paused in this texting as his eyes peered up above the top of his phone.  "Standall."

Justin didn't realize his breath caught in his throat until he let out a comically noisy gasp for air.  Bryce ignored it all the same, simply going back to his texting, "I told them you had too much to drink and crashed.  I had to lock the door so no one could see you," he motioned over Justin's body with a wave of his phone before going back to texting "like that."

He gave Justin a rather pointed, knowledgeable look as he added, "We couldn't have anyone seeing you handcuffed 'n naked in my bed, right?"

"Right," Justin nodded lightly, knowing full well it probably had more to do with Bryce maintaining his reputation than it did sparing him the embarrassment of being caught by Alex.  Despite this however, he couldn't help but be grateful.

"Thanks." 

Bryce hummed with mild interest in reply. “Did you sleep okay?”  Justin barely got out his reply before Bryce impatiently interrupted him with a disinterested "That's great" as he glared disapprovingly at the screen of his phone. 

Justin frowned himself, curious to know who Bryce was communicating with so enthusiastically but stopped just short of peering nosily over his shoulder to see who it was.  Instead he slouched back down against the pillows, imagining who it could be.  Knowing Bryce, probably just some floozy he was currently messing around with.  Or maybe it was another du— ** _no_**.  Despite his curiosity about Bryce's official sexual orientation (was he bisexual? bi-curious? Justy-sexual? Trapped in the closet?), he was pretty sure Bryce had never been with any other guy but him.  He was known not to want to discuss what they did with anyone else either: he'd learned that the hard way when he almost accidentally told Zach about one of their 'experimental' moments whilst high once.  So it was definitely some random broad for sure, but either way, it was annoying to him that Bryce was already trying to mess around with someone else so soon after their night together.

The thought gave him pause, filling him with unease as his stomach flipped into knots.  He shouldn't give a shit about something like that!  _What the hell was wrong with him?!_

“So my folks should be back soon,” Bryce announced with a heavy sigh, cutting into his troubling thoughts.  Justin looked over to see Bryce staring at him intently, no longer texting on his phone so much as just holding it securely in his hand with the screen covered.“you know, to celebrate the ole birthday.”

“Right.”Justin drawled with a partial sigh, already getting the gist of how this conversation would end.  He would have to leave soon and wouldn't be able to stay in the pool house.  Thankfully, he'd already come to expect this outcome given the occasion and already made other arrangements a couple of days prior: no way he could go back home this week with his mother's current boyfriend in the mist of a drug fueled bender.  He would sooner sleep on the street.

“They won’t be back this weekend,” Bryce elaborated as if picking up on his thoughts almost instantly. 

Justin looked at him in surprised confusion and Bryce simple shrugged.“They couldn’t be bothered to get back today,"  Justin could almost feel Bryce's change of mood and the thick tension that now hung in the air.  "so I _guess_ I can do whatever the fuck I want.”  Bryce added, his tone bitterly at odds with the seemingly pleased smiled he had plastered on his face.

Justin remained quiet, pretending to clean dirt from under his finger nails as Bryce tossed his phone from hand to hand back and forth. “They want to take me to a private cabana in Hawaii when they get back.”  he elaborated unprovoked with that same odd smile on his face, but instead of sounding braggart about it, he seemed to be completely disinterested.  He looked over at Justin and added with a sarcastic roll of his eyes,“Nothing like swinging in a banana hammock with a coconut full of liquor and a hot piece of native ass.”

Justin gave a little nod but couldn't help feeling a little confused (and slightly envious) of Bryce's 'plight'.  It sounded like something that would usually be right up his alley, liquor and sex, so he wasn't entirely sure why Bryce seemed so annoyed with the prospect.  Not to mention how nice it was to have parents that wanted to take him out on vacations, especially for his birthday.  As it were, Justin felt lucky enough when his own mother barely remembered when his was.

“You don’t wanna go?” he asked, voicing his confusion.  


“Not really, but then you _know_ how my Mom loves to work on that tan of hers,” Bryce scoffed jokingly, eyes unnervingly trained on Justin as he spoke.“I guess I can’t complain: at least they're bothering to take me this time," then he feigned in sarcastic excitement "and if I'm lucky, maybe I’ll get to spend more than a thirty minute dinner with them!” 

For a moment, Bryce's eyes narrowed, making that obviously forced smile he was sporting look rather creepy, enough so that Justin wanted to look away.  It faded quickly however into a faint scowl as he finally tossed his phone onto his nearby nightstand with a little more force than necessary.

“Should be fun, right?”  he prompted softly while still trying not to sound too dejected. 

Justin uncomfortably shifted in place as he forced himself to stare at a nearby Liberty Lions flag hanging on Bryce's wall.

He'd been through this song and dance before with Bryce about his parents and it never stopped being awkward.  He knew even if Bryce did frequently enjoy the perks of being left to his own devices,  the consistent absence of his parents deeply bothered him.  Justin had seen the way he would search for them discreetly after various sporting events, trying not to look openly morose at the other players being supported and celebrated by their parents.  The brave face he had at various award ceremonies when they weren't there to congratulate him in person or the lonely sighs he gave as he placed his newest trophy among the sea of others for them to possibly never notice.  Then there were those late nights, when the two had partaken in a little too much weed or alcohol that ended with Bryce venting out his frustrations, convinced that Justin would be too strung out to remember anything he said. 

And this is where he always had trouble when it came down to knowing exactly _how_ to approach Bryce when these situations arose.  

Even though he did relate to the desire to have parents that were consistently there for him, he also knew better than to ever voice it. Bryce would never find their situations very comparable, not when he considered the mere suggestion of likening his parents in any way, shape or form to that of Amber Foley (and whomever the hell Justin's sperm donor of father was) to be a laughable insult at best.  He ended up learning this the hard way as well when he tried to bring up the similarities the first time this kind of conversation came up, in hopes of finding some common ground with Bryce.

Justin cleared his throat nervously, knowing was expected to give some type of answer to appease Bryce.  He scrambled to decide how he should do so: play dumb and give a clueless response like he normally did while he was 'high', or give Bryce something more sincere.  He'd have to be careful with the latter option: he knew Bryce wasn't the sort to want anyone's open pity.  Especially from someone he didn't see himself as an equal to.  If he said the wrong thing, Bryce would simply scorn his attempts at comfort and use them to achieve the same affect, all at his expense. 

Deciding to take his chances, he let out an inaudible sigh and looked back over at Bryce, giving him the most sincere look he could muster, any traces of nervousness and discomfort gone.  


"Did you tell them you want to do something else?"

"Dad has business there, so they're going whether I come or not." Bryce admitted curtly and Justin couldn't help but look troubled.  All Bryce wanted was for them to be around for once and instead, he was being dragged along on a business trip as an after thought belated birthday present.  It was like being given a placebo _and_ the middle finger.  


“Then just go with it." Justin suggested with a shrug and Bryce arched a critical brow at him.  Justin inclined his head to the side a little as he added  "Go and guilt trip the _ **fuck**_ out of them.  Make them spend way more money than they need to, force them to do embarrassing bullshit, fuck, hide your Mom's tanning lotion so she'll get a sunburn.  Then grab your native piece of ass and fuck the shit out of her until you break the hammock.”

A moment passed with the two not speaking and just staring at one another.  Justin left his more heartfelt sentiments towards the situation to remaining unspoken but hopefully felt as he continued to stare at Bryce in a meaningful way.  Bryce broke contact first, looking visibly relaxed and for a fleeting moment that Justin could swear he'd imagined, grateful before he burst into laughter.  "Sounds good to me!" he joked as he picked up his cellphone again and Justin sighed in relief. 

A private part of him couldn't help but feel a swell of pride.  As selfish as it was and as hard as they could be, he privately enjoyed these fleeting moments when he got to see Bryce's vulnerability. They were an all too rare an occurrence and it made him feel somewhat special to know that Bryce at the very least trusted him enough to show that side of himself to him, no matter the circumstances.  


Feeling accomplished, Justin finally peeled the sheet back and swung his legs over the side of the bed, already locating most of his discarded clothing littered the floor.  He gave a full body stretch accompanied with a big yawn while shutting his eyes (thus missing the way Bryce watched the curvature of his body as it moved) before he got to his feet.  He then got up to retrieve his boxers, determined not to make his way to the pool house while waltzing around the Walker residence sullied and completely naked.  He may not have a lot of class, but he did have _some_ dignity.

He tried not to think of whether he was being watched (or how the thought made him feel) as he slipped them on, catching his phone shaking furiously by his discarded shirt out of the corner of his eye.  Snatching it up, he swiped the screen, eyeing his notifications before immediately opening up his messenger to reply to a text he'd just received from Alex:

 

> **yeah. I’m okay.**

  _Good.Asshole._

>   **huh?**

  _You ditched me last night._

> **yeah bout that.sorry.**

**. . .**

> **got caught up in some bullshit and lost track of time. again sorry.**

_. . .Whatever.  Are you still coming over today?_

> **yeah! still wanna do the retro movie marathon?**

_Only if the first movie is something to make you suffer for being a complete ass last night._

> **deal.Big Trouble in Little China it is.**

  _Nice try.No._

> **can’t you just believe I’ve already suffered enough?**

_Not a chance._

> **dick.**

_And you **live** for it.See you soon!_

 

Justin laughed lightly under his breath, smiling from ear to ear as he responded with a farewell of his own before tossing the phone on to his nearby crumpled up pants.  He leaned down and picked up his shirt, inspecting it to make sure nothing too crazy was on it before snapping it in the air once.  He began to slip it over his head, unaware that Bryce had in fact been watching him the entire time instead of doing whatever it was on his phone.

“What’s so funny?”Bryce asked curiously and Justin paused just as he was pulling the fabric over his eyes, peering over the rim of the collar to look at Bryce. 

“Nothing.Alex being Alex.”

“Oh,” Bryce smiled, quickly masking the dark look he gave the brunette with the same hollow amicability everyone was used to.  He swung his feet over the side of his bed and got up, stretching.Justin's eyes drifted to stare at Bryce’s penis, noting that it was still hard and a little flushed at the tip.He only realized he was still staring when he heard Bryce give a deep, forced clear of his throat.  Instantly, he looked away bashfully and Bryce gave a chortle as he shook his head with a smug smirk. “So you’re headed there this weekend?”

“Yeah.His parents are out of town and said it was cool.”Justin announced as he finally pulled his shirt over his face and smoothed it out once it was pulled down completely.

“Sounds fun,”Bryce murmured with another dark glare that passed unnoticed as he made his way over to his dresser.“So what are you and Standall gonna do?”  he inquired with a suggestive smirk slowly creeping onto his face.

Justin rolled his eyes returning a coy smirk.  “Just hanging out and watching movies.”

“ _Suuuuuure_ you are.” Bryce drawled, sounding skeptical and both of their smirks widened.

“Seriously!  We're just gonna have an honest, wholesome time!”  Justin insisted, laughing out the last word as Bryce tossed one of the shirts from his drawer at him.

"Fucking liar!"

“I swear!” Justin insisted, still laughing and Bryce cocked a critical eyebrow at him as his own laughter tapered down, sneering lightly in ridicule.

“Sounds _fun_.”  Bryce mocked snidely and Justin’s smile began to fade as he picked up on Bryce’s sudden mood change.

“What?"

"Hm?" Bryce hummed, glancing his way a moment as he unfolded another shirt from his drawer.  "I mean, no offense, but I don’t see why you’d want to spend the weekend over there." he criticized unimpressed as he examined the shirt in his hands.  "I mean, it’s ** _Standall_**.  What fun could you have if you’re not going to be fucking?"

Justin’s jaw clenched as he pursed his lips, feeling a little insulted.

“Yeah well, it’s no fucking some no named broad on the beaches of Hawaii, but—" Justin began to shoot back moodily but stopped short when Bryce cut him a harsh look that gave him pause.

"Stop taking shit so personally,” Bryce demanded, his voice soft and his tone cordial.However, it was obvious by the look on his face that he was warning Justin that he better tread carefully now with the commentary.Justin took it to heart, actively avoided eye contact and remaining as quiet as possible.  Satisfied with the display of submission, Bryce finally continued “I just assumed since you were so hot on the skinny faggot, you’d want to do something by now.”

Justin blenched at the name calling but chose not to correct him, knowing better.“We’re not like that.”

“Not like what? Serious?” Bryce inquired with piqued interest and Justin eyed him a moment before shaking his head in confirmation.They weren’t— _yet_.Justin was actually hoping to change that over this weekend.

Bryce looked contemplative before he went back to checking another shirt he pulled from his drawer, clearly pleased.

“Nice," he replied with a subtly smile.

Justin narrowed his eyes at him suspiciously, brows furrowing together as his nose wrinkling up. “ _Why_?”

“Why what?” Bryce responded nonchalantly, still looking over the shirt he was holding.  


“Why is it ‘nice’?”

Bryce gave him a light shrug as he replaced the same shirt he’d been considering back in the drawer.“It's nice that things won’t get awkward for the two of you,” he paused to shoot Justin another meaningful glare  “since we fucked last night.”

Justin began to fidget uncomfortably under Bryce’s watchful gaze, worried that his words held a duplicitous meaning.  "It won't." he murmured.

Bryce watched him for several more minutes with a cool expression, clearly thinking something over that made Justin feel increasing anxious.  Finally, he tore his eyes away from Justin with a pleased smile slowly forming on his face.  “Good to know.” he replied satisfied and Justin could only wonder what the hell that was about.  He looked at the bedroom door with renewed interest, slowly creeping his way towards it as Bryce paused in his shirt hunt, turning his attention back to Justin just as the brunette had gotten few feet away from the door.  “Where you going?”

Justin cut a quick look to the door before looking back at Bryce, seemingly confused.“To the pool house.I was gonna shower before heading to Alex’s.” he stated as if the answer should be obvious.

Bryce’s smile faded somewhat as he stared at Justin in mild disdain.

“You could always shower up here.”Bryce mentioned.

"My change of clothes are in the pool house though." Justin reminded Bryce politely.

"Sure, but do you have to leave so soon?" Bryce replied calmly. “I mean I thought you would _want_ to stay at least a _little_ longer, considering it _is_ my birthday and all."  He glared up at Justin expectantly, the coolness of his eyes betraying his otherwise affable demeanor as he added,  "You know, be there for me."

Justin adverted his gaze, already feeling the mounting pressure from guilt. 

“I mean,” he started slowly, already knowing exactly what Bryce wanted.“I guess I can always spend time with Alex later.” 

He hoped he would only have to spend a couple of extra hours with Bryce and simply have to postpone going to the Standall residence but the instantaneous grin Bryce gave him obliterated those hopes rapidly.

“So you’ll stay the entire weekend.”  His inflection made it obvious that it was more of an order and not a request.

Justin flexed his fingers at his sides nervously as he weighed his options.  He could turn down Bryce and risk upsetting someone he relied on for a multitude of reasons or cancel on Alex and risk putting their possible budding romance in jeopardy.  It only took one look at Bryce for him to make up his mind as he made his way back over to retrieve his phone.There was no way he could abandon Bryce now,especially when his parents had already done so.Not with how much Bryce meant to him and after everything he’d done for him.  Alex would forgive him eventually.Especially once he explained why he was doing what he was doing. 

He began texting out a quick message to Alex:

 

> **about this weekend.  I have to cancel.  I** **forgot I told Bryce we’d hang for his b-day.**

There was a notable time lapse before he received a reply.

 

> _Whatever._

 

Justin cursed under his breath, quickly shooting Alex another text profusely apologizing and trying to explain himself.When that got no response, he tried good ole fashioned groveling by way of trying to call him.  He felt his heart tank when Alex didn’t answer the phone, with his call going straight to voicemail.

“Problem?”Bryce called over his shoulder as he continued to mess around with the clothing in his drawer.

“Alex is pissed.” Justin admitted with a sigh as he hung up the phone and tossed it over onto the bed.

“Hn. Sorry bout that.”Bryce replied dismissively, finally deciding on a powder blue v-neck t-shirt before putting the other tops back and shutting his drawer, glancing over at Justin.  Noting the obviously increasing discontent, he cut his eyes with a discreet look of contempt as he said, “You can still go if you want.”

He could barely conceal his growing antipathy when Justin did not immediately decline the offer as he expected him to, but instead stood there contemplating it quite avidly.  Justin glanced down at the phone longingly, unbeknownst to him further wounding the pride of the jock discreetly glowering at him, indignant over the mere idea of Justin wanting to abandon him to hang out with the likes of Alex Standall.

“No, it’s cool.”  Justin finally decided, sighing a little and looking utterly disappointed in himself and unknowingly twisting the knife further.

“Dude, I’m nobody’s fucking chore.If you want to go be under Standall, then beat it.”Bryce pushed, a hint of his scorn shining through despite his best efforts to sound playful and look as though he was unbothered by the idea.

Justin took note of Bryce's increasing animosity despite his attempts to hide it however and plastered on a warm smile, attempting to look more comfortable with the idea of spending the weekend with Bryce while knowing he could have potentially ruined things tremendously with Alex.  “Come on, it’s your birthday.  There's no way I would abandon you.” He insisted, unfortunately sounding a bit more like he was convincing himself of why he should stay there. 

It hadn't gone unnoticed.  


“Gee _thanks_.” He replied dryly with an air of sarcasm, not bothering to hide how preposterous he found being an after thought to the likes of Alex Standall was.

Justin gave him one of his charming, award winning smiles.  "I mean it cause I'm here, aren't I?"

Bryce only narrowed his eyes as he glared at him, refusing to acknowledge how alluring he found the look to be as he wished to stay annoyed at the slight against his person.

“Dude, I’m potentially loosing out on a piece of ass for you!  Have a little love for my level of dedication!” Justin playfully pouted, dropping his mug and making his blue eyes wide in response, going so far as to poke his lip out and unknowingly only add to his attractiveness.  Bryce's resentment seemed to falter into placation pretty quickly and Justin felt victorious as he took a few steps toward the exit to go and finally take his shower. 

He expected Bryce to stop him with an _'Ah hah, gotcha!'_ reaction since he let it slip that he was indeed hoping he and Alex were going to sleep together this weekend.

What he did **_not_** expect was for Bryce to take his suggestion literally and use the opportunity to pull him back into his arms for a kiss just as he was passing him by.

His mouth went slack for a couple of seconds from shock before he pulled himself away from Bryce, shoving lightly at his chest to put some distance between them.“What the fuck,” he managed barely above a whisper, voice cracking a little on the last word as he glared at Bryce, who seemed far too calm for his liking.

“Just showing my appreciation.” Bryce joked with a sly smirk.“You said things weren’t serious with Standall, so he shouldn’t mind us fucking around.” Bryce smiled and Justin furrowed his brows in confusion.

“But we’re _not_ fucking around, you and I.”Justin clarified firmly while retaining a respectful tone, all the while having a look that screamed ' _This is **awkward** , you’re making this **awkward** , **don’t make this awkward!**'_

“We’re _not_?”Bryce challenged leering, aggressively pulling Justin into an embrace and leaning back into him for another kiss before he could protest.  Bryce’s mouth was bruising, his tongue delving in, and Justin just stood there dumbly, letting him kiss him again, hard and possessive.  It took another minute to pry his mouth away from Bryce’s, feeling a stirring in his boxers that registered he undeniably enjoyed the contact despite his protests.

“Last night—that was just a one time thing!” Justin reminded him (as well as himself) desperately but Bryce shrugged off his concerns.

“It doesn’t have to be.” Bryce insisted, ghosting his lips over Justin’s and sending shivers of excitement coursing through him with his every word.

“Bryce,” he pleaded lightly, trying in vain to push him away again as Bryce ignored him, making a trail of feather like kisses from his lips to his neck.  He sucked and nipped at the skin as his hands ghosted over the hem of Justin's boxers, thumbs hooked beneath the elastic fabric.

“Let’s have a little fun.” Bryce tempted him, his voice almost too soft to be heard.  Though Justin would have been able to know every word he said because he was currently mesmerized watching the movement of his mouth.  Not enough however that he didn't notice Bryce trying to maneuver his boxers down from around his waist.  He placed his hand over Bryce's to stop him, peeling them off of him successfully.

“I can't.  I need to take a shower.” he tried as an excuse, his voice sounding comically wooden and stiff as he avoided any and all eye contact with Bryce as he said it. He spun on his heel and once again tried for the door, not getting very far before Bryce caught him by the wrist tightly and yanked him back towards him harder than he had previously.

"The the fuck man!" Justin complained, frowning down at Bryce's hand and trying to yank it away unsuccessfully before Bryce pulled him closer to hold him flush against him.    


“Then why’s your dick begging me for it?” Bryce pointed out matter-of-factly, 'accidental' brushing his own bulge against Justin’s.  The latter bit down the moan that threatened to escape, dismayed with himself over the arousal simmering just below the surface as he shook his head in denial.  “It’s not!” he protested, concentrating on ignoring the way his body resonated with the constant attention, reminding himself that letting this aspect of their relationship flourish would be a terrible idea.

“Fucking liar," Bryce spoke sagely, unfazed by his rebuttal and trusting he knew the language of Justin’s body well enough.  He turned the smaller teen around in his arms, insisting on reacquainting him with his dick by pressing his erection against the curve of his ass, instantly making Justin’s own hardening cock twitch against his briefs and forming a wet spot where the tip met the fabric.  Justin tried once again to deny him but only managed a whimper as Bryce purposely ran the tip of his finger over that spot in an agonizing slow manner.  Another teasing stroke had him involuntarily arching back into Bryce's touch, begging for further stimulation. 

Justin couldn't help but feel a little light headed. This was all so suffocating and exhilarating, overwhelming yet not nearly enough. Every little brush of their skin was too much and not enough all at once, Bryce’s touch feeling like a drug being pumped into his veins, intoxicating and addicting as it sent shivers of electrified excitement to his every nerve ending, leaving goosebumps in their wake.  His mind was becoming a clouded mess of static, increasingly unwilling to process anything but the need to follow his basic primal urges, consequences be damned. 

His eyes flickered over to that king sized bed, coaxing him to give in to the temptation of plopping himself down and spreading himself open to Bryce to do with him as he pleased.

As if reading his mind, Bryce made a the move to guide him toward the bed, sharing a heated look full of unspoken promise.

The action seemed to snap Justin out of his stupor and he resisted him with increasing urgency, silently reminding himself once again of the resolution he'd come to earlier that morning as he worked harder to pull himself away from Bryce, despite the latter's reluctance to allow him to do so.

"What the hell?"  Bryce snapped in annoyance at Justin's seeming indecisiveness just as he managed to get away again.  He tried to grab him by the arm so he could push him onto the bed but Justin managed to avoid him, turning to face Bryce as he backed away closer toward the bedroom door.  Bryce leveled an accusatory glare at Justin, as if he were leading him on. 

"Why are you stopping me!" he demanded in a tone that told Justin he should stop resisting, easily helping the latter to suppress and ignore any lingering protests he had of doing so.

“Look, last night was, it was—I liked it, but I don’t want to do this again!” he insisted speaking fast, trying hard to to stumble over his words as he ran a hand through his hair.

". . .Why the hell not?" Bryce demanded, folding his arms over his chest and taking a haughty stance.  

Justin could sense that rare, unusual air of venerability again despite Bryce's increasing enmity.  It translated into something akin to  _'..is it so wrong that I like you?'_ Justin felt his heart skip a beat as guilt weighed down on him heavily, honestly not so certain of that answer anymore, but also determined to stick to his decision, if for no other reason now than thinking of what problems it could cause to his efforts to get together with Alex.  Nevermind that he found Bryce's insistence more than a little off putting at this point.

“I...” He swallowed, already terrified of Bryce’s reaction to what he would say next.He forced himself to meet Bryce’s eyes as he spoke, "I like you.  _As a friend, Bryce. **Only **_as a friend.  Last night was whatever but that was it.  We're never doing that shit again." he stated firmly, pleading with his eyes silently for Bryce to drop this and try to understand.

Despite Bryce’s best effort to hide it, his feelings were obviously hurt by the rejection, but the look was gone in the blink of an eye, replaced by his usually calm expression of indifference.  Justin never imagined that such an unassuming face could look so eerie.  No matter how tranquil Bryce seemed, his eyes gave away his true nature: furiously sharp, fierce and watching him with something more akin to that of a predator just waiting for the proper moment to pounce on its prey.  It left him feeling very venerable and despite no longer wanting to meet Bryce's gaze, Justin was admittedly too afraid to look way, certain he would come to regret letting the older jock out of his sight if he was foolish enough to do so.

So there the pair stood, in a continued tension filled awkward silence.  Finally, Bryce stepped back toward his dresser as he unfolded his arms, looking through a box resting a top it.

“Don’t you have somewhere to be.”  The cold bluntness of Bryce's words, spoken with ever calm civility, hurt him more than he cared to admit.

“Yeah,” Justin said licking his lips, eyes finally flickering to the floor then back to the bedroom door. “I-I'll just take a shower and get outta your hair.”

He was practically already through the doorway before he thought better of himself and paused to give Bryce an earnestly grateful look for letting him crash there for the night.  For not pushing the issue and for understanding.  For not acting on whatever dark impulses that Justin was positive were simmering below the surface that currently had him terrified.

“Thanks.” he managed to say with with a touch of reverence. 

There was an odd, almost unsettling pause before Bryce responded with his usual variant of ‘You’re welcome/always welcome to stay here’.

Despite his seemingly friendly demeanor, Justin couldn’t help but feel that same dark shift, that unspoken tension still hanging densely in the air between them.  It made him feel more uncomfortable with each passing second and by the time he was sliding the backdoor open and heading out into the backyard to go to the pool house, he realized how relieved he was to put some distance between the two of them for now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _I'm certain this will all work out well for Justin and everything will be fine in the end. Just fine._
> 
> **In the next chapter:** Justin finds out about the picture and is none too pleased about it.

**Author's Note:**

> _**Thanks so much for reading thus far!** _


End file.
